Ski clamping device

ABSTRACT

A ski clamp device which permits clamping of skis for bench work in three different positions. Skis are clamped between vise jaws and a floating spacing member which equalizes clamping pressure. Moving parts are slidably mounted on a track and actuated by a screw mechanism providing rotation of the vise jaws to conform with the side curvature of the clamped skis.

United States Patent 1191 1111 3,861,664

Durkee Jan. 21, 1975 [5 SKI CLAMPING DEVICE 3,384,363 5/1968 Wermuth269/247 3,428,306 2/1969 Harrison 269/218 [761 lnvemor- 11 Arrowhead3,642,269 2/1972 Ladd 269/43 x Marblehead, Mass- 01945 3,719,008 3/1973Mayers 269 40 x [22] Filed: July 18, 1973. OTHER PUBLICATIONS 211 App],3 0 49 Ski Magazine, Feb. 1973, pp 26, 29, 30.

' Primary Examiner-Roy Lake [52] U.S. Cl 269/43, 269/153, 269/242,Assistant Examiner Mark S. Bicks 51 110.0 .?T. 1 ii i/iii AmmeyAgm"rFimRichard E'Hosley of Search 4 269/218 321 A ski clamp device whichpermits damping of skis for bench work in three different positions.Skis are [56] References Cited clamped between vise jaws and a floatingspacing member which equalizes clamping pressure. Moving UNITED STATESPATENTS parts are s1idab1y mounted on a track and actuated by 287,271Gladwin X a crew mechanism providing rotation of the ise jaws 728,4505/1903 Everett 269/43 X to conform with the Side curvature of theclamped 1,823,537 9/1931 Gaudreau 269/242 X skis 2,729,252 1/1956 Elliot269/218 3,312,460 4/1967 Kaufman 269/43 X 7 C1aims, l3 Drawing FlguresPATENIEDJANZIIBYB 3.861.664

SHEET 2 OF 3 i i i FIG. IO

SKI CLAMPING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present inventionrelates to a ski clamping device used to position skis for bench worksuch as edge filing, flat filing, binding work, waxing, etc.

Skis are commonly provided with steel edges which must be occasionallysharpened to maintain gripping power on icy slopes. The sharpening isusually done by filing and to hold skis in a proper parallel edge-upposition for edge filing a bench vise is used. Also, work known as flatfiling is often done on the bottoms of skis to make the running surfacesas flat as possible as well as to make them smooth after holes and nickshave been filled with plastic or other suitable filling material. Tohold skis in a horizontal position for such flat filing work and alsofor binding work, waxing, etc., a bench jig is often used. Such visesand jigs now in use are expensive, bench space consuming and quiteawkward to use. Also, such clamping devices are apt to dent the skis dueto contact with sharp edges of the vise and jig.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide animproved ski clamping device designed to hold skis in all positionscommonly used for filing, waxing and binding work that is simple, easyto use and relatively inexpensive.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ski clamping device thatwill not dent or otherwise injure skis while clamped therein for benchwork.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe following description proceeds.

SUMMARY Briefly, in accordance with the invention a ski clamping deviceis provided wherein two skis in a parallel edge-up position may beclamped for edge filing between two movable vise jaws and a spacingmember located therebetween. The spacing member is arranged to movefreely or float as the vise jaws are closed whereby the pressure exertedon the skis by the jaws and spacing member are equalized therebyreducing the possibility that one of the skis will be dented orotherwise damaged by excessive localized pressure. Also, to furtherprevent damage the surfaces of the spacing member are curved to avoidski contact with a sharp edge due to bending of the skis duringclamping. Still further protection is afforded by the use of resilientpads on the vise jaws.

Another feature of the invention is a simplified clamp constructionwherein the vise jaws and spacing member are mounted on a track in whichthey are guided for proper movement during the clamping operation.Clamping is provided by a double threaded screw mechanism arranged topermit the vise jaws to pivot whereby they adjust automatically to fitthe side curvature of the ski thereby further avoiding excessivelocalized clamping pressure. This arrangement permits use of the clampto hold one or more skis in a horizontal upright or inverted positionfor flat filing, binding work and waxing.

For a better understanding of the invention reference should be made tothe following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF-DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of a ski clampdevice embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the clamp shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a detail view of the track used to guide the vise jaws andspacing member of the clamp of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the track taken along the sectionline 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a detail view of the screw mechanism used to actuate theclamp.

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are sectional views of the clamp taken along thesection lines 66, 7-7 and 8-8 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a partial view of the top portion of the clamp illustratinghow skis are clamped in various positions for bench work.

FIG. 10 illustrates how two clamps may be used to clamp'two skis in aparallel edge-up position for'edge filing.

FIG. 11 shows how two clamps may be used to clamp a ski in a horizontalposition.

FIG. 12 is a partial side view of a modified form of DESCRIPTION OFILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawing, there isshown a ski clamp construction embodying the invention. As shown the skiclamp comprises two oppositely disposed vise jaws 10 and 11 mounted andguided for sliding movement toward and away from each other on anelongated track 12. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the track has a C-shapedcross section with inwardly projecting flanges l3 and 14 which extendover and retain shoulders 15 and 16 on vise jaw 10 and shoulders 17 and18 of vise jaw 11. There is provided sufficient clearance between thejaw shoulders and the track to permit free guided movement of the jawsalong the track and also to permit some rotary movement of the jaws fora purpose later to be described. Also, as shown, the track is providedwith spaced countersunk holes 19 to permit mounting of the track on awork bench with flatheaded screws that will not interfere with slidingmovement of the jaws. Preferably the track is made of metal havingsuitable strength such as cold rolled steel.

Mounted on the track 12 for free sliding movement between the vise jaws10 and 11 is a spacing member 20 having shoulders 21 and 22 retained bytrack flanges l3 and 14. The spacing member has upstanding side surfaces23 and 24 and a top supporting surface 25.

The vise jaws 10 and II are moved on track 12 toward and away from eachother by means of a screw mechanism. As best shown in FIG. 5 the screwmechanism comprises a screw shaft 26 which is manually rotated by meansof a handle 27. The screw shaft has reversely threaded portions 28 and29 on which ride in threaded engagement nuts 30 and 31. The nuts havecylindrical exterior surfaces 32 and 33 which project into correspondingbores 34 and 35 in vise jaws l0 and 11 whereby the jaws are moved inopposite directions by rotation of shaft 26 and handle 27. There issufficient clearance between the surfaces 32, 33 and bores 34, 35 sothat the vise jaws l0 and 11 are free to rotate a limited amount aboutthe axes of the nuts. This motion permits the vise jaws to conform tothe contour of skis clamped thereby as will be further described. Inorder to provide clearance for the screw shaft 26 the vise jaws and thespacing member are provided with cut away portions 36, 37 and 38 asshown. It will be noted that since there is no nut on the centralportion of shaft 26 the spacing member 20 is free to ride on track 12between the vise jaws.

The ski clamp functions to clamp skis in three positions for bench work.These are referred to hereinafter as Mode 1, Mode 2 and Mode 3.

In Mode 1, two skis may be clamped in an edge-up parallelbottom-to-bottom position for edge filing of the skis. The two skis inthis position are indicated by dot dash lines 39 and 40 in FIG. 9. Tohold the skis in this position without damage to the skis from denting,the inside surfaces of the vise jaws and 11 are provided with resilientpads 41 and 42. These bear against the top surfaces of the skis andforce the bottom surfaces into engagement with the sides 23 and 24 ofthe spacing member 20. In this position the bottom edges of the skisrest on top of the track 12. Because the spacing member is free to rideor float on track 12 it seeks automatically a central position in whichthe pressure exerted by the vise jaws is equally distributed between thetwo skis. This feature helps to prevent damage to the skis fromexcessive clamping pressure exerted by one vise jaw due to unsymmetricalpositioning of the spacing member. Also, the curved edges 23 and 24 ofthe spacing member prevent contact of the skis with sharp edges thatmight damage the skis.

The pads 41 and 42 are preferably made of a resilient material such asrubber to avoid any damage to the skis and are secured to the vise jawsin any suitable way as by cementing. The thickness and deformationcharacteristic of the pads are selected such that the pads are notcompletely flattened when the vise jaws are clamped against the skis.Since the force exerted on the vise jaws by the clamped skis isconcentrated in the areas of the pads which are displaced from the screwshaft, torques are exerted on the jaws. As viewed in FIGS. 1 and 9 thetorque exerted on jaw 10 is counterclockwise and on jaw 11 is clockwise.These torques cause a slight rotation of the vise jaws to a point whereshoulders 15, 16 and 17, 18 move into cramping engagement with theunderside of flanges l3 and 14 of track 12. In this manner the vise jawsare locked in the clamped position until the mechanism is released by areverse rotation of handle 27.

In Mode 2 one ski may be clamped between the vise jaws in a horizontalinverted position for flat filing repairing or waxing the bottom of theski. The ski in this position is indicated by the solid lines 43 in FIG.9. The height of the top surface 25 of the spacing member may, as shown,be selected so that it supports the ski at the proper height forclamping. In this position steel edges 44 and 45 of the ski should beabove the top of the vise jaws 10 and 11 so that the filing tool willclear the vise jaws.

In Mode 3 one ski may be clamped in a horizontal up-' right position forwork on the ski binding. This position is indicated by the dash lines 46in FIG. 9. For use of the clamp in this mode the spacing member is firstremoved. This is easily done by releasing the screw mechanism andsliding the jaws and spacing member assembly out of the track. Thespacing member is then lifted off the screw shaft and the two jaws andscrew mechanism are replaced in the track. In order to provide aconvenient support for the ski in this mode prior to clamping, the jawsl0 and 11 are provided with notches 47 and 48 so that the ski issupported in the bottom of the notches.

To obtain adequate support for skis during bench work it is usuallydesirable to use two ski clamps in the manner illustrated in FIG. 10 andFIG. 11. In FIG. 10 two ski clamps A and B are shown supporting a pairof skis 49 and 50in the Mode 1 position; i.e., the skis are mounted inan edgeup, bottom-to-bottom, parallel position for edge filing. Asshown, clamp A is located toward the front of the skis and clamp Btoward the back. Each clamp is identical having the same construction asthat already described. Corresponding parts have the same numbers withappropriate subscripts to differentiate between the two clamps A and B.In this mode the jaws 10a, 11a and 10b, 11b bear against straight skisurfaces and hence are parallel to tracks 12a and 12b as shown.

In FIG. 11 the two clamps A and B are shown in the position they occupyin the Mode 2 and Mode 3 positions wherein a single ski 51 is clamped ina horizontal upright or inverted position. The sides of skis usuallyhave substantial curvature being wider toward the ends and relativelynarrow in the middle. As pointed out above, the vise jaws l0 and 11 aremounted on the cylindrical nuts 30 and 31 so that they are free torotate a limited amount determined by the clearance between theshoulders 15, 16 and l7, l8 and the sides of the track 12. As shown inFIG. 11 this construction permits the jaws 10a, 11a and 10b, 11b torotate sufficiently to conform to the side curvature of the ski 51.Thus, jaws 10a and 11a are rotated in a direction to conform with thecurvature of the ski near the front end, while jaws 10b and 11b arerotated in appropriate directions to conform to the curvature near therear end of the ski. The amount of jaw rotation and ski curvature shownis somewhat exaggerated for clarity of illustration.

In FIG. 12 and FIG. I3 there is shown a modification of the inventionwherein the configuration of the spacing member 20 is changed so thattwo skis indicated by dash lines 52 and 53 may be clamped simultaneouslyin a Mode 2 or Mode 3 horizontal position for bench work. Here, thespacing member is provided with two notched portions 54 and 55 adaptedto receive and support adjacent sides of skis 52 and 53 the oppositesides of which are received and supported by the notches 47 and 48 ofvise jaws 10 and 11. The sides of the notches 54 and 55 have curvedsurfaces 56 and 57 so that there will be no sharp edges in contact withthe skis during clamping. In this variation the track 12 is made longerso that there will be sufficient clearance between the vise jaws in theouter position at the extremities of the track to accommodate two skis.If desired, the ski clamp assembly may be supplied with extra spacingmembers and vise jaws having different height and notch dimensions toaccommodate various types of skis. Such use of interchangeable parts ispractical because of the ease with which the ski clamp assembly may beassembled and disassembled.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that there has been provided aski clamp construction that will not damage the skis, supports the skisin three different positions and is simple, versatile and easy to use.By making the jaws and spacing member of a suitable plastic materialsuch as highdensity polyethelene the clamp may be manufactured at arelatively low cost.

While there have been shown what are presently considered to bepreferred embodiments of the invention, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. A ski clamping device comprising:

a. a pair of movably mounted vise jaws,

b. a spacing member having two upstanding side surfaces disposed betweenthe vise jaws,

c. clamping means for simultaneously moving the vise jaws in oppositedirections toward the spacing member so as to clamp a ski in a positionbetween one vise jaw and one of the side surfaces of the spacing memberand another ski in a position between the other vise jaw and the otherof the side surfaces of the spacing member, and

d. means mounting the spacing member to permit free movement thereof ina direction to equalize the pressure exerted on the skis when the visejaws are moved to a ski clamping position.

2. The ski clamping device of claim 1 wherein the side surfaces of thespacing member have a slight curvature to prevent damage to the skis bycontact with sharp edges.

3. The ski clamping device of claim 1 wherein the spacing member hasnotched side portions adapted to support adjacent edges of twohorizontally positioned skis clamped between the vise jaws and thespacing member.

4. The ski clamping device of claim 1 wherein the vise jaws are mountedon an elongated track and are provided with shoulders engaging the trackto guide movement of the jaws along the track.

5. The ski clamping'device of claim 4 wherein the spacing member alsohas shoulders engaging the track for guiding movement of the spacingmember along the track.

6. The ski clamping device of claim 1 wherein the clamping means formoving the vise jaws comprises a screw having two reversely threadedportions and a pair of threaded nuts separately engaging the threadedportions of the screw, the nuts being connected to actuate the vise jawsin opposite directions.

7. The ski clamping device of claim 5 wherein the vise jaws are providedwith resilient pads engaging the skis in the clamped position.

1. A ski clamping device comprising: a. a pair of movably mounted visejaws, b. a spacing member having two upstanding side surfaces disposedbetween the vise jaws, c. clamping means for simultaneously moving thevise jaws in opposite directions toward the spacing member so as toclamp a ski in a position between one vise jaw and one of the sidesurfaces of the spacing member and another ski in a position between theother vise jaw and the other of the side surfaces of the spacing member,and d. means mounting the spacing member to permit free movement thereofin a direction to equalize the pressure exerted on the skis when thevise jaws are moved to a ski clamping position.
 2. The ski clampingdevice of claim 1 wherein the side surfaces of the spacing member have aslight curvature to prevent damage to the skis by contact with sharpedges.
 3. The ski clamping device of claim 1 wheRein the spacing memberhas notched side portions adapted to support adjacent edges of twohorizontally positioned skis clamped between the vise jaws and thespacing member.
 4. The ski clamping device of claim 1 wherein the visejaws are mounted on an elongated track and are provided with shouldersengaging the track to guide movement of the jaws along the track.
 5. Theski clamping device of claim 4 wherein the spacing member also hasshoulders engaging the track for guiding movement of the spacing memberalong the track.
 6. The ski clamping device of claim 1 wherein theclamping means for moving the vise jaws comprises a screw having tworeversely threaded portions and a pair of threaded nuts separatelyengaging the threaded portions of the screw, the nuts being connected toactuate the vise jaws in opposite directions.
 7. The ski clamping deviceof claim 5 wherein the vise jaws are provided with resilient padsengaging the skis in the clamped position.